Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell, a two-time Oscar(r),-nominated actress, is well known for her performances on screen in both historical and modern roles. She also has a long history of roles on stage and screen. Mary Eileen McDonnell was the daughter of John McDonnell (a computer consultant) and Eileen (Mundy) who was a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania native. She was raised in Ithaca and graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. She then attended the drama school after which she was accepted into Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast). Her first film role came in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the character of "Stands with a Fist" who was a Sioux Indian raised white woman. In exchange for the role, she received her first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) & Mumford (1999), opposite veteran actors such as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley; Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); the highly acclaimed art house hit Donnie Darko (192001); and Margin Call (2011). The film won her the Robert Altman Awards at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was the president Laura Roslin in the critically well-reviewed show Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She appeared in four seasons. Her regular guest role as a host on the television series ER (1994) was rewarded with an Emmy nomination. TNT's acclaimed drama series Major Crimes (2012) features her as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell developed the role. The show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy(r). Her performance as a paraplegic character in soap operas in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination as well as a Golden Globe nod.